Oakland federal judge helps former Dublin FCI prisoners win early release

OAKLAND, California. – Laura Russell is home with her family for Thanksgiving after a federal judge in Oakland helped secure her early freedom through a series of extraordinary letters she has been sending to judges across the country about the abuse. sexual and medical negligence at the now closed Federal Correctional Institute in Dublin.

“I’m just going to enjoy my husband and my daughter-in-law,” Russell told KTVU on Thursday. “I don’t care if we have cheeseburgers. It’s wonderful to be home on Thanksgiving.”

Russell is one of at least 22 former Dublin FCI women who have been released through compassionate release, primarily because they were survivors of sexual assault, according to Families Against Mandatory Minimums, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that acts as a clearinghouse. for these cases.

Separately, members of the Dublin Prison Loneliness Coalition are calling on President Joe Biden to grant clemency to dozens of women who were detained at FCI Dublin before he leaves office.

Compassionate release allows incarcerated people to be released early from prison for “extraordinary and compelling reasons” and is often medical or humanitarian in nature.

Russell was released about a year before her January 2026 release date, after a judge in Idaho noted her poor medical care and the fact that she suffered physical injuries at the hands of an officer while at FCI Dublin in 2023. and 2024.

Culture at the FCI Dublin

FCI Dublin no longer exists.

As a backdrop, seven former Dublin FCI prison officers, including the warden, have been convicted and sentenced for sexual offenses while exercising authority over imprisoned women. A eighth officer heads to trial.

As part of a class-action lawsuit against the BOP, U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers in Oakland visited the low-security women’s prison and declared it a “dysfunctional mess.”

He also appointed a special supervisor for the prison, the first time in BOP history this has happened.

But rather than comply with the special order, BOP chief Colette Peters closed FCI Dublin in April, saying she could not change things.

More than 600 women, including Russell, were They were bussed out of California and sent to prisons across the United States, on what many described as horrific journeys.

Russell was taken to Lexington Federal Medical Center in Kentucky.

Women have been calling for early release

Dozens of people, many of them victims of sexual assault or who helped the FBI with its sex crimes investigations, asked to be released early.

Russell also asked.

His case is unusual in light of the FCI sex scandal in Dublin because he suffered medical negligence: he injured his arm when an officer closed a door on him and also had mysterious spots on the skin. She did not survive the sexual abuse.

“People forget that the abuse at FCI Dublin was not just sexual,” said Shanna Rifkin, FAMM deputy general counsel. “There were a lot of constitutional deficiencies in health care.”

The judge’s unusual actions

What González Rogers did was also unusual.

Gonzalez Rogers wrote to sentencing judges across the United States regarding his nine-hour visit to FCI Dublin in February and how the prison had “limited or no access to constitutionally adequate medical and mental health care, programming and timely administrative help.” He also wrote that “the time at FCI Dublin was probably ‘a more difficult time’ than at other institutions.”

The judge also wrote about the sexualized culture at FCI Dublin, severe understaffing and retaliation by officers against women who spoke out, his court order states.

“I have never heard of a case where a judge has written to other judges in compassionate release cases,” Rifkin said. “She is giving credibility to women’s voices.”

A judge rarely grants early release

It is true that Russell’s case deviates from the norm in more ways than one.

In releasing Russell on November 21, US District Court Judge David Nye in Boise, Idaho, appointed by both Obama and Trump, He stated that he “rarely grants motions like this.”

Nye said that when he imposes a sentence – in this case, 40 months for money laundering – expects that sentence to be carried out.

Federal prosecutors also noted in their opposition to Russell’s early release that she had already received a fairly lenient sentence for her role. The US attorneys also noted in their court motion that her claims are simply accusations that were never proven and that she had not met her burden of showing extraordinary and compelling reasons to support her early release.

In an interview, Russell, now 67, said he pleaded guilty to the crimes and took full responsibility.

And he added that he did not do it for personal gain. his son He was sentenced to 15 years after being convicted of conspiracy to distribute drugs and money laundering.

Despite prosecutors’ arguments, Nye said that if “exigent circumstances” arise, an early release should be granted.

Those circumstances include Russell repeatedly telling the story of a corrections officer slamming the cell door on his elbow, and when he complained about it, he was retaliated against.

His lawyer, Miles Pope, described what happened to Russell as a “prison assault.”

He also suffers from Meniere’s disease and osteoporosis.

“I think the judges believe we get medical care in prison,” Russell said. “But it’s obvious we don’t.”

Much to be grateful for

Russell said she has a lot to be grateful for this holiday: the continued advocacy of her husband, her attorneys and the judges who listened to her and ultimately won her release.

But she also suffers from some post-traumatic stress disorder from being imprisoned in Dublin’s FCI. She recently felt panicked when going to the grocery store and says she’s used to being woken up by the jingling of keys and flashlights. The other night he screamed in his sleep.

“It’s going to take a while,” he said. “I just have to remember to be kind to myself.”

Lisa Fernandez is a reporter for KTVU. Email Lisa at [email protected] or call her at 510-874-0139. Or follow her on Twitter @ljfernandez